As 'reminiscent' this could be an endless list, so long as we understand that it is not the doctrine or any other lion's roar imho. By some reasonable kind of acceptable exegesis, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiasties, Psalms, Gospel of John, Gospel of Thomas, etc., etc..

I just found this one and I think I will try it out as potentially a good way to calm my nerves on what will be my first long distance international air flight. I'm confident it could easily live up to this excerpt from the much longer review posted for it. I'll know in a day when it is done downloading. Ok, nuff from me about this guy. He is the most consistently dhamma reminiscent contemporary artist I know of. Having also not ever expressly said he was trying to be to my knowledge.

"It is pointless to place this record in a pecking order with Cockburns other work; that it adds to that body of work immeasurably is compliment enough. However, to say that it is necessary because it can cause self - and world - examination in any listener who plays it through is as high a compliment as can be offered."

Just paid quite a bit of money for tickets to see Simon & Garfunkel. I never though I could see them live and this is probably the last time they will tour internationally.

To me, artistes like Leonard Cohen and Simon & Garfunkel (ok Ben, I'll add Bob Dylan too, but like Retro I can't quite get into his music ) have an amazing ability to speak the truth of samsara in achingly beautiful ways.

Patterns by Simon & Garfunkel

The night sets softlyWith the hush of falling leaves,Casting shivering shadowsOn the houses through the trees,And the light from a street lampPaints a pattern on my wall,Like the pieces of a puzzleOr a child's uneven scrawl.

Up a narrow flight of stairsIn a narrow little room,As I lie upon my bedIn the early evening gloom.Impaled on my wallMy eyes can dimly seeThe pattern of my lifeAnd the puzzle that is me.

From the moment of my birthTo the instant of my death,There are patterns I must followJust as I must breathe each breath.Like a rat in a mazeThe path before me lies,And the pattern never altersUntil the rat dies.

And the pattern still remainsOn the wall where darkness fell,And it's fitting that it should,For in darkness I must dwell.Like the color of my skin,Or the day that I grow old,My life is made of patternsThat can scarcely be controlled.

As we all know, Buddhism avoids the mind/body or spirit/matter dichotomy that has characterised much of modern Western thought as well as some theistic religions. We are given practical advice on realising this, particularly in kayanupassana and vedananupassana practice. French philosopher and Talmudic commentator Emmanual Levinas seems to have captured the same understanding in the following passage. It also reminds me of Tilt's signature: 'This being is bound to samsara, karma is his means for going beyond' (SN I, 38).

The body is not only a happy or unhappy accident that relates us to the implacable world of matter. Its adherence to the Self is of value in itself. It is an adherence that one does not escape and that no metaphor can confuse with the presence of an external object; it is a union that does not in any way alter the tragic character of finality.

This feeling of identity between self and body, which, naturally, has nothing in common with popular materialism, will therefore never allow those who wish to begin with it to rediscover, in the depths of this unity, the duality of a free spirit that struggles against the body to which it is chained. On the contrary, for such people, the whole of the spirit's essence lies in the fact that it is chained to the body. To separate the spirit from the concrete forms with which it is already involved is to betray the originality of the very feeling from which it is appropriate to begin.

The importance attributed to this feeling for the body, with which the Western spirit has never wished to content itself, is at the basis of a new conception of man. The biological, with the notion of inevitability it entails, becomes more than an object of spiritual life. It becomes its heart. The mysterious urgings of the blood, the appeals of heredity and the past for which the body serves as an enigmatic vehicle, lose the character of being problems that are subject to a solution put forward by a sovereignly free Self. Not only does the Self bring in the unknown elements of these problems in order to resolve them; the Self is also constituted by these elements. Man's essence no longer lies in freedom, but in a kind of bondage. To be truly oneself does not mean taking flight once more above contingent events that always remain foreign to the Self's freedom; on the contrary, it means becoming aware of the ineluctable original chain that is unique to our bodies, and above all accepting this chaining.

......

Chained to his body, man sees himself refusing the power to escape from himself. Truth is no longer for him the contemplation of a foreign spectacle; instead it consists in a drama in which man is himself the actor. It is under the weight of his whole existence, which includes facts on which there is no going back, that man will say his yes or his no.

'Requiem For A Dream' by Hubert Selby Jnr. I read the whole narrative through a dhammic lens. It's a very powerful example of the varying attachments (narcotics, TV, food, greed for money and an 'easy life') of four people, how these slowly corrode their ability to relate meaningfully, annihilates their self esteem, leads them into an abyss of their own making and finishes with a devastating realisation that they have learned little.It was like a slow sheet lightening reminder for me to wake up and start acting positively in the world.

Death sweeps away those who spend their lives gathering flowers- Dhammapada 47

The only true freedom is freedom from the heart's desires;And the only true happiness this way lies...- Matt Johnson, The The

'Requiem For A Dream' by Hubert Selby Jnr. I read the whole narrative through a dhammic lens. It's a very powerful example of the varying attachments (narcotics, TV, food, greed for money and an 'easy life') of four people, how these slowly corrode their ability to relate meaningfully, annihilates their self esteem, leads them into an abyss of their own making and finishes with a devastating realisation that they have learned little.It was like a slow sheet lightening reminder for me to wake up and start acting positively in the world.

Death sweeps away those who spend their lives gathering flowers- Dhammapada 47

The only true freedom is freedom from the heart's desires;And the only true happiness this way lies...- Matt Johnson, The The

I thought Revolver was heavily laden with Dhamma themes; I later found out that the director had placed Kabbalah symbolism throughout the movie.

Last edited by daverupa on Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

“The minute I heard my first love story,I started looking for you, not knowinghow blind that was.Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.They're in each other all along.” ― Rumi, The Illuminated Rumi

“beyond the rightness or wrongness of things there is a field, I'll meet you there” ― Rumi

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ― Rumi

"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "--------------------------------------------"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "

I sent my soul through the invisible,some letter of that after-life to spelland by-and-by my soul returned to meand answered, "I myself am heaven and hell". - Omar Khayyam

In these one, two, three days a lifetime has passed,like cascading waters or a desert squall.But regret for two days never comes to mind: the one that hasn’t arrived and the one that long since passed

- Omar Khayyam

When this concentration is thus developed, thus well developed by you, then wherever you go, you will go in comfort. Wherever you stand, you will stand in comfort. Wherever you sit, you will sit in comfort. Wherever you lie down, you will lie down in comfort.

Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion, too

Imagine all the peopleLiving life in peace

You, you may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you will join usAnd the world will be as one

Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or hungerA brotherhood of man

Imagine all the peopleSharing all the world

You, you may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you will join usAnd the world will live as one

"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "--------------------------------------------"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "

And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,The solemn temples, the great globe itself,Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolveAnd, like this insubstantial pageant faded,Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuffAs dreams are made on, and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more but enjoy less

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgement; more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life, we've added years to life not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say "I Love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Give time to Love, give time to speak, give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "--------------------------------------------"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "